Ho Chi Minh City is seeking approval from the country's legislators for its plan to build the fifth metro line which it says will cost US$4.47 billion.

Under the plan recently sent to the government, the city said foreign creditors have agreed to bankroll the line, which will run around 24 kilometers between the Can Giuoc Bus Terminal in Binh Chanh District and the Saigon Bridge.

The government will present the plan to the National Assembly for approval.

Under Vietnam's law on public investment, any project which costs the state budget more than VND10 trillion ($457.87 million) must get approval from the assembly, the country's legislative body.

The city has managed to secure funding for the first stage of the construction, estimated at $1.86 billion. It said nearly 30 percent of that will come from the state budget.

The South Korean government is considering providing technical support for a feasibility study for the second stage.

The study will also look into the city’s suggestion to build an extra two-kilometer line linking the metro line with Tan Son Nhat, currently the biggest airport in Vietnam.

The line is one of the eight planned for the country’s first subway network.

Work on the first line connecting Ben Thanh in District 1 and Suoi Tien in District 9 began in 2012 and is expected to finish by 2018.